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I want a change too

America is becoming exponentially anti-Biblical. By that, I mean to say that America has decreasing value for the wisdom and admonition of the Lord. The gospel is talked about a lot but rejected by so many.

I want a change too.

Every American holds the office of citizen. We are responsible for electing officials who make policy and legislature that represent us as citizens. Yet, no one is perfect. We are all tainted by sin and in a helpless state. Thankfully, we are not without hope. Jesus has paid a sin debt that was not His own so that God can save His people from their sins in a majestic display of justice, wrath, and loving mercy. And God gets it right every time. He never, ever messes it up. He won’t lose a single person from His hand. He overlooks no one. And when we have faith in His goodness and the saving person and work of Christ, He is faithful to rescue us and never let go. What a God! After all, He could have just wiped us out and been justified in doing so. Instead, He planned before the foundations of the earth to send His Son into a fallen humanity to rescue His church. What’s the command? Repent and believe. How do we accomplish this? The obedience through the work of God to save us. Nothing to boast in except God’s wonderful grace towards sinners!

But what does this have to do with America and the needed change among Americans? We need to be proclaiming the gospel. It’s the means by which God saves! His grace goes one further and uses the saints to give the message of salvation! We need to be more boldly proclaiming the Word of God in love.

But what does this have to do with us as citizens? We have a high calling in our dual citizenship. Our forever home is with God on the New Earth. For now, we are Americans and Christ followers. However, we are primarily citizens of the Kingdom of God with responsibilities given from God in how we represent Him as ambassadors to this earthly kingdom in which we find ourselves. So what is our response to the 2016 Election? I mean, the Democratic socialism of the Hillary and Bernie camps is not ideal by any means and destroys America from its core. If that’s not bad enough, with their support of abortion and Planned Parenthood, these two candidates don’t seem like viable choices.

What about Trump? He’s definitely a different candidate who isn’t afraid to tell it like he sees it. In fact, he’s called out people about their mess multiple times. The concern comes from what he’s said. We can’t blame it on the media nor people’s understanding of him. His stances on issues of race, freedom of religion, abortion, and view of women are all recorded in length, not some partial sound bite. I get the concern that the media taints or bolsters candidates, because they do. But you can’t claim that about Trump. He won’t let the media do that to him, which is nice for a change. We actually get to hear him speak for himself. But… Trump is wishy washy on abortion. He has lied on issues regarding donor funding amongst other things. He is consistently misogynistic and derogatory. But what ought to concern us even more than that is that Donald Trump claims to believe yet refuses to ask God for forgiveness. He is a hypocrite of the highest kind.

Keep in mind, we shouldn’t be looking for the perfect candidate, because there is none. Our concern also isn’t to decide which is less evil and choose that or figure out which evil we would rather not have running things. We will be held accountable when we “give approval to those who practice [evil deeds]” (Romans 1:32). It’s clear that the American Christian has a weighty decision coming up. We aren’t responsible for a candidate who says one thing on the campaign trail and then changes their mind when enacting policy as a President, unless we’ve seen them make this change before or know that they haven’t made a hard stance on the issue prior. We aren’t responsible for who wins or loses. We aren’t responsible for these things at all. We are very responsible for who we write down in that blank on voting day, however.

I’ve been asked if it’s a sin to vote for Trump (the same has been asked about Hillary, I’m sure). I go back to the Bible, because my opinion doesn’t matter. God’s opinion matters though. So the question that we must answer in honesty and sincerity in light of Romans 1:32 is this:

Will voting for Trump or Hillary give approval to their evil deeds that they themselves have displayed in regards to their policy plans, political debates, actions, and words?

We need to remember that we aren’t talking about salvation. Hillary and Trump have both lived lives that bear reprobate fruit. Before God, any effort they make towards being a good person and gaining His favor is a filthiness which is unacceptable. They both equally need Jesus. So we are then talking about them and their actions. When we look at the outcome, we will be tempted to try to join forces and choose one in hopes of defeating the other. But God says to choose what’s right. Yes, that very well may be a third-party or write-in. But you have to answer that question in all honesty and sincerity before God. For Southern Baptists, we have had some very wise counsel from major arms of the SBC that decry both Hillary and Trump, Dr. Russell Moore as President of the ERLC (the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission) and Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the largest and most prominent SBC seminary SBTS (the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). Choose today how you will respond lest you be unsure and make a poor decision in the voting booth.

“This side of the New Jerusalem, we will never have a perfect candidate. But we cannot vote for evil, even if it’s our only option…Our primary concern is not the election night victory party, but the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

— Dr. Russell Moore

“Yet if this is a moment of testing for democracy, it is also a crucial moment for Christian witness. This election cycle is going to be a particular test for American Christians — and we are about to find out if Christians are up to this challenge.”